Isaiah 21

A Judgment on Babylon

¹A pronouncement ^a concerning the desert by the sea: ^b

Like storms that pass over the Negev,

it comes from the desert, from the land of terror.

²A troubling vision is declared to me:

“The treacherous one acts treacherously, ^c

and the destroyer destroys.

Advance, Elam! Lay siege, you Medes!

I will put an end to all the groaning.”

³Therefore I am ^d filled with anguish.

Pain grips me, like the pain of a woman in labor. ^e

I am too perplexed to hear,

too dismayed to see.

⁴My heart staggers;

horror terrifies me.

He has turned my last glimmer of hope ^f

into sheer terror. ^g

⁵Prepare a table, ^h and spread out a carpet!

Eat and drink!

Rise up, you princes, and oil the shields!

⁶For the Lord has said to me,

“Go, post a lookout;

let him report what he sees.

⁷When he sees riders —

pairs of horsemen,

riders on donkeys,

riders on camels —

he must pay close attention.”

⁸Then the lookout ⁱ reported,

“Lord, I stand on the watchtower all day, ^j

and I stay at my post all night.

⁹Look, riders come —

horsemen in pairs.”

And he answered, saying,

“Babylon has fallen, ^k has fallen.

All the images of her gods

have been shattered on the ground.” ^l

¹⁰My people who have been crushed

on the threshing floor, ^m

I have declared to you

what I have heard from the Lord of Armies,

the God of Israel.

A Pronouncement against Dumah

¹¹A pronouncement ⁿ concerning Dumah: ^o,^p

One calls to me from Seir, ^q

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night? ”

¹²The watchman said,

“Morning has come, and also night.

If you want to ask, ask!

Come back again.”

A Pronouncement against Arabia

¹³A pronouncement concerning Arabia: ^r

In the desert ^s brush

you will camp for the night,

you caravans of Dedanites. ^t

¹⁴Bring water for the thirsty.

The inhabitants of the land of Tema ^u

meet ^v the refugees with food.

¹⁵For they have fled from swords,

from the drawn sword,

from the bow that is strung,

and from the stress of battle.

¹⁶For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year, ^w as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar ^x will be gone. ¹⁷The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.